THE SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE OF WESTERN WRITERS ON THE FIRST GENERATION OF ARAB-AMERICAN IMMIGRANT WRITERS. A Thesis. Presented to

Transcription

1 THE SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE OF WESTERN WRITERS ON THE FIRST GENERATION OF ARAB-AMERICAN IMMIGRANT WRITERS A Thesis Presented to The Graduate Faculty at the University of Akron In Partial Fulfillment for the Requirements for the Degree Master of English Rawan Alshareif May, 2018

2 THE SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE OF WESTERN WRITERS ON THE FIRST GENERATION OF ARAB-AMERICAN IMMIGRANT WRITERS Rawan Alshareif Thesis Approved: Accepted: Advisor Dr. Hillary Nunn Dean of the Collage Dr. John Green Faculty Reader Dr. Joseph Ceccio Dean of Graduate School Dr. Chand Midha Faculty Reader Dr. Heather Bruan Date ii

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION... 4 II. RALPH WALDO EMERSON S INFLUENCE ON AMEEN RIHANI S THE BOOK OF KHALID (1911) Transcendentalism Rihani's life as Shaping force for Khalid,,,,,,.14 III. THE INFLUENCE OF WILLIAM BLAKE S ON GIBRAN KHALIL GIBRAN IN THE PROPHET (1923) Defining Romanticism Blake and Gibran Gibran Khalil Gibran IV. RUSSIAN LITERATURE AND LEO TOLSTOY'S INFLUENCE ON MIKHAIL NAIMY IN THE BOOK OF MIRDAD (1948) Literature and Morality for Tolstoy and Naimy The influence of Tolstoy in The Book of Mirdad V. CONCLUSION REFERENCES iii

4 INTRODUCTION This thesis focuses on the influence of elements of Western literature as exemplified by specific writers on Arabic immigrants who came to the United States between 1911 and In 1920 in New York City, a small group of Arab-American writers formed a literary society under the name of the Pen League, also called "al- Mahjar which aimed to create a literary bridge between the East and the West (Kayyali 126). Its members decided to write their own works in English as well as translate significant examples of Arabic literature (Kayyali 126). Salma Jayyusi describes how these early Arab-American writers came to the United States as immigrants with the desire for change and thus to break away from the traditions of Arabic writing (131). At that time the Turkish military ruled most of the Arabic speaking world and thus wielded a tremendous amount of power which impeded free expression. This prevented Arabic literature from developing (Al Maleh 314). However, these writers who had formed the Pen League were able to write freely once they arrived in the United States, and subsequently their literature made a great impact both inside and outside of the United States. Most of the Pen League writers, predominantly Christians, had immigrated from Lebanon and Syria (O Connor 98). It is important to point out that the members of the Pen League considered writing in the United State to be an opportunity, because here they could express their thoughts freely in contrast to their home countries (Kayyali 126). 4

5 Ameen Rihani, Gibran Khalil Gibran, and Mikhail Naimy are the Pen League writers on whom I focus, whose work clearly demonstrates this reflection of Western literature whether they wrote in Arabic or English (Al Maleh 314). These three writers likewise have in common the influence of Western religious philosophy and its writers. The Book of Khalid (1911) by Rihani, The Prophet (1923) by Gibran, and The Book of Mirdad by Naimy all reflect the influence of Western religious writers in many aspects. For example, either directly or indirectly, each presents his protagonist as a prophet. Additionally, these characters deliver enlightening wisdom to their people, just as the prophets had done, about morality, and thus offer readers a better understanding of life, as well as advice about spirituality, religion, and God. Rihani's novel The Book of Khalid tells Khalid's story, the struggles that he faces when he emigrates to the United States, while trying to understand his identity. As a result of the identity struggle, Khalid undergoes a personal and spiritual change. Then, Khalid decides to go back to his home country, Lebanon, to rescue it from the rule of the Ottoman Empire, which he attempts to do by giving political speeches that encourage the people to rebel. The story ends with Khalid s disappearance as the Ottoman Empire had pressured him to stop his political activities. Gibran s The Prophet presents a character who will rescue the people through his wisdom in life. The book starts with a farewell; a prophet wants to leave, but a group of people encourage him to stay longer to give them advice about different topics. The prophet agrees and talks about many different aspects of life, 5

6 such as love, marriage, joy, and sorrow. Mirdad in Naimy's The Book of Mirdad, gives speeches that inspire his group members. All three of these works use the same method to deliver the writers thoughts through their protagonists, advising the people with moral lessons about matters which pertain to life, as well as thoughts about religion and God. The first chapter discusses the influence of the Transcendentalist writer Ralph Waldo Emerson on Ameen Rihani, as shown in The Book of Khalid. In this chapter, I first identify and define Transcendentalism and its relationship to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Then, I analyze the novel to show how Ameen Rihani made use of this influence. Both of these writers are linked in that they share similar philosophical perspectives about life, such as understanding the relationship between oneself and God and how nature is the source of spirituality (Funk & Sitka 56). For both Rihani and Emerson, seeing nature as central to spirituality will result in making the individual trust his intuition as a primary source to develop society and understand the value of individualism and its importance for spiritual growth, as presented in the character of the protagonist Khalid. Khalid is a Lebanese man who emigrates to the United States to work. Khalid goes through a spiritual awakening that results in changing his prospective about life. These changes happen when Khalid travels to the United States and occur due to the influence of the Western philosophers that he starts to read. Emerson is one of these writers that the character Khalid reads. Khalid s character reflects Emerson s influence; not only does the book mention Khalid's reading of Emerson but also depicts Khalid quoting Emerson. Through the inspiration of Emerson, Khalid starts to connect with nature, and he sees God in nature (Al M Maleh 318). Then, Khalid comes to understand the importance of one's own intention and its link to the individual s growth. All these inner changes that 6

7 Khalid goes through make him turn against social norms, and he starts to criticize both the United States and his home country (Funk& Sitka 55). Presented as a prophet, Khalid wants to change and enlighten his society. In the novel, Rihani wanted to send a message to the readers, which is saying that in order to create a better world the East and the West should cooperate. He blends his views with those of the transcendentalist Emerson. Thus, it can be said that Rihani was influenced by Transcendentalism and by Emerson, and that is revealed in his novel The Book of Khalid through the character of Khalid. The second chapter is about the influence of Romanticism, especially Blake, on Gibran's The Prophet. Gibran's book is a collection of poems and prose poems. These poems and prose poems give advice about many different elements of life as told by a prophet. Gibran was influenced by most of the writers from the Romantic era (Jayyusi 362), but he is especially influenced by Blake (Imangulieva 10). There are similarities that can be seen between Blake's and Gibran's poetry, which occur in two aspects: both use an ideal hero who narrates their poems, and both emphasize the importance of the individual and freedom to achieve self-growth. Additionally, Blake and Gibran wrote about similar matters, such as the concept of love, its relation to truth and the concept of good and evil, and how both are essential to balance life. Also, both borrowed imagery from nature in their poems (Imangulieva 11). In this chapter, I refer to Aida Imangulieva in several points, because she describes most of the similarities between Blake and Gibran in terms of the concept of good and evil and nature imagery. What I add to her research is the concept of the hero -- in other words, the ideal hero who narrates the poems of both Blake and Gibran. To build this chapter further, I used different poems of 7

8 Blake and compare them to Gibran's book The Prophet. Gibran reflects Blake's writing as can be clearly seen in The Prophet. The third chapter studies Russian Literature and Leo Tolstoy s influence on Mikhail Naimy as seen in The Book of Mirdad (1948). Naimy is one of the Pen League writers who was influenced by Western writers, though in a different way from the other Pen League writers. Naimy was influenced by Russian literature (Swanson 49). In contrast to the others he studied at an Orthodox school in Lebanon, and at that time these schools were established by the Russians (Marks 95). Also, he was an outstanding student and consequently was sent to continue his studies in Poltavian, Ukraine, which was then part of the Russian Empire (Swanson 49). Thus, Naimy read Russian literature when he was in the Orthodox school. One of the Russians that Naimy read and was influenced by in his philosophy was Tolstoy. Naimy's philosophical book The Book of Mirdad illustrates the influence of Tolstoy's philosophical thoughts on his work. In this chapter, I reference Imangulieva s and Swanson s studies demonstrating how Tolstoy's philosophy influenced Naimy. I add to this analysis, comparing Naimy's The Book of Mirdad and Tolstoy's philosophy, as seen in some parts of his book A Confession. This book by Tolstoy discusses his journey of faith, and it can be said that Naimy was influenced by this book since there are some similarities of thought that can be seen in The Book of Mirdad, specifically the nature of good and evil, concepts of faith and spirituality, and the importance of self-improvement for the individual to understand God and faith. This analysis will prove Mikhail Naimy's was influenced by the Russian writer and philosopher Leo Tolstoy. 8

9 For the most part, these three writers of the Pen League show the impact of these Western writers, and that impact shaped their views of religious thought that is shown in their works. That influence made their religious thought more liberated, which they could express more freely in the United States but were not always celebrated in the Arab world. In fact, some Arab critics reject their ideas. Said Ghamdi says some of the modern writers, such as Gibran, wanted to bring new ideas in his writing, and that resulted in bringing new views of religion that conflicts with the religion s truth. Also, he calls Gibran's style of writing the destroyer (Ghamdi 134). This shows that the works of the three writers carry new perspectives in shaping religious viewpoints, which are not always accepted in the Arab world. However, these three writers did not adopt all their religious insights from Western writers, but they were inspired by them. In other words, the three writers were influenced by the Western writers, and they blended some of these Western writers points of view concerning religion and spirituality in creating their own interpretations. 9

10 CHAPTER I RALPH WALDO EMERSON S INFLUENCE ON AMEEN RIHANI S THE BOOK OF KHALID (1911) This thesis begins with Ameen Rihani s The Book of Khalid, which has been called the first Arab-American novel (Wail 38). Most criticism of the novel, which was published in 1911, focuses on the influence of Western movements and schools, most particularly Romanticism, on the Pen League writers, specifically Ameen Rihani. The writers of the first wave of Arab-American emigrants were in need of new inspiration to refresh their ways of writing, since Arabic literature was at that time confined by traditional forms. In other words, it was Arabic literature which had stopped developing, maintaining only specific types of writing (Jayyusi 131). This is why Rihani was influenced by the Western literature. He read European Romanticism and the Transcendentalism of that time (Al Maleh 314). Transcendentalism was a result of the New England Romanticism in the 1830s and the 1840s. Critics describe transcendentalism as a movement that was held by intellectual Americans in Boston. This movement of philosophic thoughts were driven from the European Romanticism, but it was affected by the characteristics of American culture. For example, it called for individuality and the freedom of thinking (Murray 1149). This chapter will focus on the influence of Transcendentalist writer Ralph Waldo Emerson on Ameen Rihani's The Book of Khalid. In Emerson s Transcendentalism 10

11 Régis Michaud noted that Emerson's name is always linked with the Transcendentalism (73). He is one of the remarkable authors of the Transcendentalist movement and has a clear influence on Rihani's The Book of Khalid. Consequently, this chapter will start by defining what Transcendentalism is, and who the important figures in that movement are, their relationship to Ralph Waldo Emerson and how ultimately, they have an influence on Ameen Rihani, especially in his novel The Book of Khalid. There is a parallel that can be seen between Ralph Waldo Emerson and Ameen Rihani's view of life; both of them share the same philosophical perspective about life, such as the relationship to understanding oneself and God and how nature is the source of spiritually. Furthermore, they both value individualism and its significant role for the spiritual growth, and how that will result in making the individual trust his intuition as a primary source to develop society. Transcendentalism Before discussing Rihani's work, it is helpful to establish a working understanding of Transcendentalism and Emerson's role within it. Transcendentalism was a philosophical movement established in America, but as is true in so many cases had its roots in Europe. Many scholars have written to define Transcendentalism as a philosophical movement that encourages liberal spiritually, and the individual's power. American Transcendentalism as a movement aimed for change. According to Joel 11

12 Myerson, American Transcendentalism meetings took place in Boston starting in June,1836. This started when a minister at Bangor, Maine, Frederic Henry Hedge, invited Ralph Waldo Emerson and others from Unitarian churches. That meeting was named the Transcendental Club. The purpose from the Transcendental Club and its meetings is to discuss the issues that was happening at that time. They discussed philosophy and religion (Myerson ). The Club did not have specific known members, but there were frequent visitors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Ripley and George Putman. Transcendentalism was influenced by German Romanticism and also by Immanuel Kant (Sceery 9). Dana Rus says in an article The Role of Transcendentalism in Shaping American cultural Ideology that this movement focused on individualism and self-confidence. It encouraged the person to look on the concepts of life with their own point of view, away from religion or social traditional perspective (249). This movement was formed based on the concept that man can reach to the fundamental truth by using his inner sensation. A man does not need experience in order to understand things around him when he has the power of his intuitive understanding. Transcendentalists see the man as spiritually the center of the universe. Each individual is the center of the universe because he is in the center of the attention, and in the position of power. Moreover, they give man abilities that usually are characteristics associated with divinity. The philosophical theory of Transcendentalism wants to say that human ability has no limits (Rus 247). It is only limited when one does not understand his inner spirituality. Transcendentalism represents the philosophy of the emotional escape (Rus 248), and it is the American response to Romanticism and to challenge the European culture. The emotional escape is to look on aspects of life with a personal perspective and 12

13 understanding. Transcendentalism shows how the American culture formed an original philosophical thinking that reshaped the perspective of things in life, such as man, nature, and God (Rust 248). Transcendentalism is also about the concept of the American dream, the concept of the New World as a place to start over and affirm one s capacities to the fullest and an ardent belief in the powers of a self-reliant American (Rust 248). Ralph Waldo Emerson is considered one of the important figures who established Transcendentalism in America. It is an original American movement that was formed to get out of the European tradition of philosophies (Rust 250). They called for shifting the authority from religion and tradition to the individual's intuition. Furthermore, transcendentalism does believe in the existence of God, but He is not existent in church only. However, God does not have the full authority on people. Transcendentalism gives the authority to the individual and they give him godlike qualities in defining life's mortality; the person s consciousness is the scale of mortality, and man is the intermediary whose form is the result of his function as an organic link between man and God, in process which combines man, God, physical laws and moral laws. (Rust 251). This shows that Transcendentalism says that the laws of morality are in the individual instincts. There is a strong link between Transcendentalism and Emerson because he was a preacher who attended Hedge's meetings and developed central thoughts on religion. He sees that all religion is associated with the individual understanding (Michaud 75-76). In other words, Emerson believes that each individual in any religion should have the right to grasp his or her religion based on their own understanding. They do not need a preacher or a scholar to lecture them on how they should spirituality feel toward God. 13

14 Other transcendentalists saw that this movement called for liberating Christianity, while Emerson saw it as creating a better understanding of religion by making a relation between what is ideal and what is real. He wanted to create a new philosophical foundation to spirituality (Michaud 78). His philosophy says that it is crucial for the individual to have his spiritual freedom and self-reliance. His philosophy is present in his writing, for example, Nature because when he wrote it he wanted to teach the individual the way to access his own faith (Michaud 78). He wants to prove that the belief in the self-intuition is an important element and a source of knowledge. The one can reach to the truth by understanding the world around him through his intuition. Rihani's life as Shaping Force for Khalid Again, Ameen Rihani's background has an influence on his work. He was born in 1876 in a Lebanon village, Furayka. Then, in 1888 he moved with his family at the age of twelve to America and settled in New York (Beshara 163). When he went to America, he worked with his father's business, which is how he mastered speaking English, and at the same time he had the time to read (Donovan 9). He also attended American public schools. His went back to Lebanon in 1897 (Kaufman 209). Then he went back to America and settled in New York, and he visited to Lebanon constantly. Rihani started his writing career with short stories and articles both in Arabic and English. He published his works both in Lebanon, and in America. Rihani, and others Lebanese writers, established the Pen League group in May 1917 (Kaufman 210). Rihani's life ended in an accident while he was riding his motorcycle in Lebanon, and he was buried there (Beshara 163). 14

15 Rihani is one of the Arab-American writers who published some of their work both in Arabic and English. He wanted to have an American audience. He wanted to create a space that could link both cultures, the East and the West. Rihani wrote in English, even though not many Arabs knew English, or were fluent to read his novels that were written in English. Sometimes he would write his poems in Arabic, then translate them to English, and sometimes he would write directly in English, like with his novel The Book of Khalid. One of the reasons that made Rihani write in English is that he wanted his work to be read in America, because he did not want to write in Arabic and make his literature only accessible by the East. In The Book of Khalid, he uses Arabic idioms and references, and sometimes he uses references from the American culture (Nash 18). This clearly emphasizes the reason why Rihani wrote in English, since he was trying to present the Arabic culture to the American readers. In order to do that successfully he needed to make these connection between the Arabic culture and the American clear to all of his readers. Rihani presents this idea in his novel The Book of Khalid, when he is showing that there will be a better life for everyone if the East and the West cooperate (Nash 25). They will gather in the middle and form a ground that will hold all of them. It can be argued that Rihani had a lot in common with the protagonist of the novel Khalid. They have similarities in the background and also in their philosophical ideas, thoughts about having a better community and, political point of view. Rihani came to the United State as a Lebanese emigrant, as did the character of Khalid. Even that Rihani settled in America, he felt that he belonged to the East. But he viewed the West as the place of opportunities. Rihani lived his life between Lebanon and America which affected his belonging and resulted in him being out of place (Funk & Sitka 5). This 15

16 struggle of identity made him feel like he has two identities. However, Rihani did find a solution and he embraced his situation. He was proud of his ethnicity and appreciated traditions (Beshara 166). That also is seen in the story of Khalid when he returned to his homeland. In the novel, Khalid says The West for me means ambition, the East contentment. (Rihani 179). He sees the best in the East and the best in the West. His imagination pictures America as a land of opportunities. Khalid tells how a person in America can turn sand into gold (Rihani 36). This is why he wanted the two sides to learn the best from each other. However, he mostly focusses on the East, because that is where his home country is. Also, Rihani's interests toward politics made him want to solve issues concerns with his home country. One of Rihani's political and philosophic thoughts is that wanted to create democracy and to find justice in the Middle East, and that can be done by a corporation between the east and the west (Beshara 164). Before Rihani started writing, he paid his attention to politics. He was traveling back and forth from Lebanon to the United States during World War 1. At that time, the Ottoman Empire was still in control. Rihani started his political activities in When Rihani started giving speeches in Lebanon, he was always talking about freeing Syria. He also wanted to make a Syrian union, as he wanted all Muslim and Christian Syrian to form one nation. He also stood with Arab rights against the Ottoman Empire (Beshara165). Rihani wrote about political situations in a more philosophical way (Al Maleh 313). It was the lens that he used when writing. In the novel Khalid come to the United States to live in the new world, and he also sees it as the land of opportunities. However, Khalid did not stay in the United States for the rest of his life. He feels that urge to go back to his homeland and to make things better. He wants to improve the political situation in his homeland based on what he 16

17 learns when he was away. One of his philosophical say that deal with the improvement of the political situations in his country is that the east should learn from the west. Khalid criticizes his country by saying that they had a lot of influences from the west. However, the influence is only limited to the materialistic elements: We are beginning to know and appreciate English whiskey, but not English freedom; we know the French grisettes, but not the French sages; we guzzle German beer, but of German wisdom we taste not a drop (Rihani 211). The story concludes with Khalid's return after a long traveling in Lebanon's mountains. He wanders into his country to see with his own eyes how people are living. He realizes that his country's situation is more corruption than he imagined. Khalid continues to describe the positives of the West that the East are ignoring, and he notes that the East is only getting the West material's benefits. This shows how Rihani wanted to deliver through Khalid the idea of the good influence that could come from the West. If only people knew that the influence should not be limited to the materials. At the same time, Ameen Rihani was influenced by Emerson and the philosophy of Transcendentalism as shown in The Book of Khalid. This influence liberated Rihani and gave him a new vision when writing his novel (Al Maleh 314). The main theme of this novel is to show how an Arab immigrate name Khalid struggles in adapting with his society because of his philosophical thoughts. His society considers these philosophical points of view odd and not acceptable. What Rihani brought new to the Arabic literature by writing this novel is the philosophic influence that delivered in his writing. The Book of Khalid, the influence of Transcendentalism and Emerson is clear, not only by the 17

18 philosophical through, but also was mentioned directly. Ameen Rihani mirrored Emerson s philosophical view of life. These philosophical thoughts can be seen in Khalid's character, and which can be spotted in the relationship to understanding oneself and God and how values nature is the sources of spiritually. Besides, the reader can see how Khalid presents Emerson's value of individualism and its significant role for the spiritual growth, and how that will result in making the individual trust his intuition as a primary source to develop the society. The novel The Book of Khalid opens by an editor, who is a fictional character in the novel that narrated Khalid s story. This character reads Khalid's story on a modern Arabic manuscript when he was in the Khedivial Library in Cairo. The editor asks for permission to publish the manuscript that contains Khalid's story. Then the editor feels that he knew Khalid, and he wants to complete his story, but in order to do that he starts searching for more information about Khalid. He then meets with Khalid's friend Shakib, who then tells him that he wrote a biography that talks about his friend Khalid who had disappeared in Cairo, but the editor refuses to write a biography about Khalid based on the manuscript, because he does not really know Khalid in person and does not know his character. So, the editor tells us the story of Khalid based on the two manuscripts that he gathered, and he also added his own interpretation and perspective (Al Maleh ). The novel is narrated by three characters: the editor, Khalid and his friend Shakib. When the editor is in a person point narrated voice based on the Arabic manuscript that he found and translated it into English. The story is about two emigrant friends, Khalid and Shakib. Their story is divided and named into three sections: the first section is Al- Fatihah, the second is To Nature and the third one is In Kulmakan. The novel starts 18

19 when both Khalid and Shkib decide to travel to the United States to create a new life. The reason why Khalid wants to go to America is because he did not want to work in his father's store for the rest of his life. Furthermore, he had to have regular visits to his uncle, who was the one who raised him after his father died, but his uncle was not treating him well. He also was in love with his uncle's daughter. So, Khalid wants to travel to America to start a new life, but for Shkib, the reader does not get a lot of reasons. Shkib only wants to travel to America to make a fortune. Their trip to America is not easy; they settle in New York City and live in an old basement for a while and they start work as peddlers. Khalid starts to read a lot of books and he starts to change. He undergoes a lot of changes and his friend Shakib always tries to help him. Khalid stops work as a peddler because he starts to get busy with his reading and understanding the world around him in a philosophical view. At that time, Shakib helps him by providing money for their living. He tries to make him work with him, but Khalid refuses. Shakib does not stop paying off for both of their living. Then, the story shifts its setting when Khalid and Shakib decides to go back to their home land. The reason that Khalid wants to go back is because he starts to criticize the West. However, he realizes that he also sees a lot of issues in the East. Then, he gets into a lot of troubles because he wants to make a change, and he does not succeed. The story ends by telling the reader that Khalid flees to Egypt, and he disappears under obscure circumstances: He has disappeared some ten days ago, he then said, and I no not whither. Therefore, ask us not, O gentle Reader, what became of him. How can we know? (Rihani 252). It can be argued that Ameen Rihani reflected his ideas through the man character Khalid. That can be seen on two sides; both share the same conditions on the personal level, and they share the same philosophic view of life. Starting by explaining how they 19

20 both share the same conditions, Rhiani came to the United States as an immigrate, and he also went back to his home country the same reason Khalid had to go back, which is a health issue that needed to be cared of in their home country. In the second section of the novel, when the doctor tells Khalid he will either return home on his own account or die in New York (Rihani 98). Khalid's health issue is not clearly explained. As on the philosophic aspect from the beginning Khalid was presented to the readers as a character who started reading many books when he came to America. He had a rule that he read one book at a time and then he burns the book when he finishes is as a way to honor that book. Rihani did not burn books after reading them, but he was known of his love of reading and passion to learn more, and that was especially when he was in America and wanted to read from the western culture philosophy. Rihani observed his philosophy from the western society; he came to America when he was eleven years old and got his education there. The Book of Khalid draws attention to American transcendentalism writers, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson (Choueiri 399). Rihani not only brings out the importance of nature as a reflection from Emerson's philosophical thoughts, but also quotes him directly. Throughout the novel, Khalid offers philosophical ideas that value of nature and its relationship to understanding oneself and God and how there is a value of the soul and spirituality over materialism. Both his views and Emerson's value individualism, not following the social order and how it's important for the individual to develop spirituality before deciding to maintain a change. Furthermore, they share the same philosophical ideas toward religion, and its relation to the individual's intuition. 20

21 The characteristic of Khalid shares similarities with Emerson's philosophy about nature. These similarities show when Khalid quotes Emerson directly in the novel. To explain more, Transcendentalism values nature, and its importance for one to connect with nature to understand their inner-self and God. In the novel, Khalid sees himself connected with nature. In the third chapter of the Second Book the narrator tells the reader that Khalid's love toward nature started when he goes to the Bronx Park when he was in America, and he says that this park awakened in him his long dormant love to nature (Rihani 103). Khalid's love of nature played an important part through the whole novel. He seeks his philosophy, observing nature, moreover, he expresses his philosophical points of view by using nature. That passion that's within Khalid about nature continues throughout the novel; moreover, he directly quotes Emerson s philosophy about nature and adds his own interpretation of nature: The beauty of Nature,' Emerson again, 'must always seem unreal and mocking until the landscape has human figures, that are as good as itself.' And 'tis well, if they are but half as good, To me, the discovery of a woodman in the woodman in the Wadi were as pleasing as the discovery of a woodchuck or a woodswallow or woodbine. For in the soul of the woodman is a song, I muse, as sweet as the rhythmic strains of the goldfinch, if it cold be evoked, (Rihani146) Khalid quotes Emerson when he talks about nature to make sense of things around him. In addition, he expresses his passion and love toward nature, and how each person should awaken his love to nature. Khalid found his shelter in nature (Al M Maleh 318). He wanted to deliverer his ideas through the character of Khalid, and his thoughts are influenced by Emerson. Emerson philosophy is that he believed that nature is not only an 21

22 object, but also something that reflects the inner spirit, and there is a connection between the nature and the moral law. It is when a one observes nature and analyzes its mechanism and structure, then understand how the human nature is the same as nature's mechanism and also part of it. This observation of nature result in understanding that connection is wisdom. Furthermore, when the one learns to sufficiently experience nature, the one will create their own spiritual world (Funk & Sitka 63-64). This is what Khalid feels when he goes out in nature. He feels that he is spiritually linked with nature; moreover, he experiences and observes that connection with nature to understand the moral law. He feels the God's spirit in nature. Transcendentalism values nature and sees that it is linked with spiritually and understanding God, and transcendentalists see that spirituality surpasses the material. They explain that by saying that the inner person is the real world, and not the material world. In fact, the one sees everything with their spirit (Funk & Sitka 56). For the person to live a better life, one should accept his inner spirit. Then he will reinforce the material world to help develop his life (Funk & Sitka 57). Emerson believed that to understand our inner spirit, one should be free from all boundaries because each individual's spirit possesses its own uniqueness; consequently, when individuals observe the material world from inward, their vision will not be similar to others. The one should be willed enough to experience life by following his inner spirit (Funk & Sitka 57). Also, Transcendentalism values spiritual faith more than religious creeds. It claims that everyone has the divine inside of them which means that they can connect to God not only in religious places like churches (Funk & Sitka 62). One can experience the divine 22

23 anytime and in any place. Moreover, they see nature as the best place that one can find God. That means they do not believe in a specific religious creed, and do not link the spiritual faith of the individual with it. Khalid not only quotes Emerson as he changes his ideas of material goods, he also shows transcendental philosophy that comes through in his actions. Khalid is a Christian, but he does not show his religions part in most of the novel, but he always shows his belief in following his own spirit and allowed himself to be free from the materialistic world. He is not detached from the materialistic world at the beginning of his journey; that lesson of not relating to materialism took time. When he came to America, he wanted to get money fast, so he and his friend Shakib started as peddlers. They will sell their goods and they claim that they brought it from the holy land to entice more customers: where he purchases a few boxes of trinketry,--scapulars, prayer-beads, crosses, jewelry, gewgaws, and such like,-- all said to be made in the Holy Land (Rihani 39). Khalid was doing something against the morals that he wanted to achieve, that is because he was valuing money and materialism. However, the reader can see how Khalid has changed by the ending of the first book and become more spiritual, and this can be seen when he did not want to continue as a peddler. Shakib tries to make him continue working with him, but Khalid refuses. One day he agrees to go with him, but instead of actually working he says he only goes with him to walk. Then, when they want to take a break from walking, Khalid suddenly decides to burn his goods, and Shakib says: The bottle was filled with kerosene, and in a jiffy the box was covered with the flame, Yes; and so quickly, so neatly it was done, that I could not do aught to prevent it (Rihani 70). Khalid burned the goods as a way to rebel on his old self. He did not want to continue their commerce. He 23

24 wanted to discontinue their business, because he sees that there is corrupted in their business. Khalid's action can be named as a crazy act, but he labels it with a different name which is he was obeying this urge inside of him, which is following his inner spirit. Also, the novel shares Emerson's concept of the individual, and its importance for the spiritual self-development and then the person will be ready to make a change. Khalid believes that everyone has a mission in this life, and each individual can make a difference and can affect others. Additionally, the individual s beliefs can be spread and adopted by others (Funk & Sitka 59). These changes that happen to the soul through time allows the soul to be able to develop and grow. We see that in Khalid, his spirit guides him to change. This first started when he traveled from Lebanon to the United States. He was enthusiastic for not only a status change, but also for spiritual change. After Khalid was spending time being a peddler, he realizes that this is not the job that he wanted to do for the rest of his life and he needed a change. He was happy when he starts to work as a peddler when he first came, but the time and the circumstances affected him and changed his soul and helped it to grow and to want more than being just a peddler. He needed that change to grow and make a change in his society; when he goes back to Lebanon, he could give his people a new perspective that they did not think about before. He could come with a different thinking than other because he is looking to the world from a different lens. For example, on the third book, chapter five, when he was looking on the social structure and analyzing the social class in his society: I had to be silent as the pines in which I put up, until I become as healthy as the swallows, my companions there. When we meet, I shall recount to you the many curious incidents of my solitude and my journey in the sacred hills of Lebanon (Rihani 203). Khalid here was sending to his friend Shakib to tell him how after isolating himself he could gain more wisdom. In this quote it 24

25 can be seen how Khalid is learning from nature. As we said earlier, he appreciates nature and seeks lessons from observing it. His solitude in Lebanon's mountains taught him about the issues of his society. In other words, he individually guided him to develop himself, and then how to improve his society. This shows the importance of the individuality element in the novel. It can be said that The Book of Khalid supports that transcendentalism thought. Khalid's main struggle is about making a change, and though his thoughts about change were ignored or rejected. The reason why his ideas were rejected is because it did not match with the social order. He did not only criticize the East but also the West. (Al Maleh 316). Khalid want to change the society and always tries to challenge the social norms. The reader can see that when he went back to Lebanon he did not return the same person. He stopped accepting the Eastern social norms that is not built on good reasoning. For example, he rejects the church's rules structure, and he sees that the Maronite church is following its own benefits. He also sees that the church uses its holiness to make people follow its rules without the ability to reject or complain. However, Khalid differs from other people, and he questions the churches intentions and. He did that without the fear of being excluded from the society. That resulted in him being rejected from his society, so he had to leave. The rejection was so intense that he had to flee from Lebanon to Egypt. By the end of the novel, that rejection was the reason behind his disappearance. That shows how the character of Khalid reveals an influence by Emerson's transcendentalism as they share the same philosophical ideas toward religion, and its relation to the individual's intuition. 25

26 It can be said that Khalid has the same philosophic view of religion with Emerson's transcendentalism. Emerson stated that both creeds and authority destroy the concept of religion and faith, and does not associate God with church, but he associates God with nature. He sees that religion in the past was significantly stronger because if was free from the restrictions of the creeds and authority. At the beginning of the novel, Khalid was introduced to the reader that he is a Christian, however, at the end of the novel Khalid was asked whether he was Christian or Muslim. He is not showing any clear faith, yet he is always discussing the import of spirituality. In the third part of the novel, Khalid has a conversation with a person who admired his thoughts. That person told him that he thought he is Mohammedan, which was another name of Muslim, and he asked him Then, are you Christian? I am a Christian too (Rihani 214). Khalid then explains his answer more and says talking about religions: I embrace truth, wheresoever I find it. Indeed, every religion is good and true, if it serves the low purpose of its founder. And they are false, all of them, when they serve the low purpose of their high priests. (Rihani 215). This shows how Khalid does not believe that one religion is the truth, but all religions are the truth if they served its spiritual purpose in of making the one a better person. It can be seen that this idea is also a transcendentalist. As mentioned earlier, Emerson believes in nature as a tool to understand religion; nature teaches people how to worship (Funk & Sitka 62). Emerson also rebel against the Church and its rules; he wants to break from traditions that were created by the church. (Hamilton 86). Nevertheless, Emerson sees that nature can teach the person's spirituality and therefore to connect with God. His philosophy of nature is that the individual will find (Hamilton 87). The impact that nature have on the individuals is a better guide than the what the Church's teaching. The reason why is that the nature is God's creation, while 26

27 the Church is a human-being creation. In Emerson's Nature, he explains some of his philosophical views of religion and God in the introduction: Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition, a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs (Emerson 1). He wants to say why we as individuals cannot obtain an original relationship with God and religion. Emerson sees the Church as something that was created by humans. Thus, the individual does not need to follow the church's rules in order to connect with God. Emerson's philosophic thought goes against the orthodox Christianity. He says that the church does not help the soul to grow and find its spirituality. (Hamilton 87-88). Likewise, the character of Khalid, Emerson sees that the person does not have to follow the church or sees it as an authority over the self-reliance. The individual must believe in his own intention that he can get from different sources, and one of these sources is nature. Therefore, he sees how religion and nature are linked to reach spirituality and linking authority and creeds with religion will make it lose its meaning. One example of this is that when Khalid was criticizing both Christians and Muslims, he was not biased to any religion. He also criticizes religion in both East and West. He leaves America because he hated the value of materialism over spiritualism. So, when he went back to Lebanon he was surprised that materialism went far to the East as well. (Al Maleh 312). His influence from Transcendentalism changes his point of view; he was not like that from the beginning of the novel. Khalid faces rejection from the church and get into an argument with them. One example that shows how Khalid argues with established religion and does not accept how the church presents it is when he wanted to marry his cousin Najma and the 27

28 church disprove the marriage because they are cousins. He had a mutual love with his cousin before he went to America, and when he returned to his homeland he was still in love with her and wanted to marry her. The church does not approve cousin's marriage; however, they will allow them to get married if they agreed to pay five hundred piasters, but Khalid rejection that condition. This is the dialogue that is between Khalid and the priest made clear that Khalid will not obey the church's rules: But can we not obtain this sanction without paying for it? You are not paying for it, my child; you are only contributing some alms to the Church. You come to us, therefore, as a beggar, not as a spiritual father and guide. That is not good speaking. You misunderstand my purpose (Rihani 133) Khalid did not pay for the church, and then he faced the consequences; the church accused him that he is corrupt, and they put him in prison while they were preparing for his cousin Najma to another man that obeys the church religious law. The church put Khalid in prison, and Najma's father conformed the church's advice in finding a better husband to marry his daughter. Therefore, he married his daughter to a man from a high class and obeys church's law, over her will. Najma wanted to wait for Khalid to get out of prison and run way with him, but that did not happen. Khalid did not regret disagreeing with the church rules, but he was still in love with her, and she still loves him. He did not obey the church because he sees that the church was corrupt. And he sees that human should not follow rules written by religious men. In so doing, Khalid agrees with the 28

29 concept of Emerson's spirituality. Rihani also reflects the idea of self-reliance and mentions it so many times in the novel (Al Maleh 313). This is how we see Rahini's Transcendental thoughts reflected on Khalid's character. Like Khalid, Transcendentalism values spiritual faith more than religious creeds. It claims that everyone has the divine inside of them which means that they can connect to God not only in religious places like churches. (Funk & Sitka 62). One can experience the divine anytime and in any place. Moreover, they see nature as the best place that one can find God. That means they do not believe in a specific religious creed, and do not link the spiritual faith of the individual with it Khalid, having the same beliefs as American Transcendentalism and Emerson, sees the primary source for knowledge in one's intuition. Khalid is a character that is self-educated himself, since he always reads, and discusses his thought with the used book seller Jerry. He also attends lecturers about atheism. However, Khalid realizes that the way to gain more wisdom is by having faith and trust in his own intuition. (56 Funk & Nathan). Khalid shares this Transcendentalism believe in intuition. This belief in intuition is in Khalid, as well as in Transcendentalism. He knows that he cannot rely only on the knowledge that he gains from books and discussions; rather, he needs more to add on to that which is in the beliefs of his own intuitions. Khalid says that Our intuition never lies (65 Rihani). Khalid believes that intuition is an important element as a source of knowledge. (Michaud 74). He realizes after reading so many books, and in his ways in exploring life that his intuition is the one element that can never be mistaken. The person can reach to the truth of understanding the world around him through his own intuition. 29

30 To conclude, Ameen Rihani was influenced by Emerson's Transcendentalism, and this influence is explicit in his novel The Book of Khalid. Rihani wrote this main character Khalid, that showed his influence of the American Transcendentalism and Emerson. Khalid undergoes change in understanding his inner-self and then understanding God by connecting to nature. Then he learns to value the inner spirit more than the materialist world. He then realizes that he should depend on his intention and becomes more individual. His intention drives him to go against the social norms and made him want to change his surroundings. Khalid is the character Rihani used to deliver his transcendentalist thoughts. By the end of the novel, Khalid tells his people the conclusion that he found after years of rebelling against the typical thinking on his final speech, which was the speech that was full of rebellions thought that the government declare, and he had to flee to Egypt to be forgotten. He said in his speech that to reach to the reformation The soul must be free, and the mind, before one has the right to be a member of a free Government (Rihani 212). It is not clear if Rihani intentionally wanted to echo Emerson's philosophy through Khalid, but the reader can see how Khalid quote Emerson and talk about him as a heroic figure. 30